While firearms remain popular in many jurisdictions for self-defense or sporting uses, appropriate storage for firearms has historically been problematic. One problem regarding firearm storage is specific to self-defense use or law enforcement use. On the one hand, a self-defense firearm or law enforcement firearm should be stored in a way that prevents unauthorized access. However, a firearm intended for self-defense use or for law enforcement use must be readily accessible to an authorized user and maintained in a loaded condition in which the firearm may be deployed quickly if necessary. These seemingly contradictory requirements have proven difficult to meet.
Another problem arises particularly with both self-defense firearms and firearms intended for sporting uses. This problem is that since a firearm may be stored for extended periods of time between uses, an unauthorized removal of the firearm may go undetected for a long period of time.
Prior attempts to address the problems associated with storing a firearm, particularly firearms intended for self-defense use, fall into two broad categories. A first category of firearm storage arrangements involves some sort of lock or barrier which either blocks access to the firearm or at least prevents the firearm from being used even though it may be accessed. These lock or barrier arrangements, while generally effective at preventing unauthorized access or use of the stored firearm, are ineffective at allowing quick access to an authorized user.
The other broad category of firearm storage arrangements for self-defense firearms includes alarm or notifying systems which provide the authorized user with a notification of some type when a stored firearm is accessed. U.S. Pat. No. 6,400,269 provides an example of a notification-type firearm storage arrangement. This patent discloses a firearm display case equipped with an alarm. The firearm fits into a recess in the case, and may be protected by a cover. In the event the cover is lifted, or the firearm is removed from its recess, the device activates an alarm, and may send an alert to home security personnel. However, the case requires that the owner remove the cover first before accessing the firearm. Also, the pressure sensitive switch employed in this device to provide a signal when the firearm is lifted from the recess, and the recess itself is specific to a particular size and shape of firearm, or at least specific to firearms within a certain range of size and shape. Thus different models of the case shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,400,269 are required to accommodate different types of firearms.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,116 discloses another notification storage arrangement for a pistol. In the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,116, the lower end of the pistol grip fits snugly into a receptacle to hold the pistol in an upright position. If the pistol is removed from the mount, a pressure-activated switch opens to activate a local alarm, or send an alarm signal to a remote monitoring center. Because the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,116 relies on a tight fit between the lower end of the pistol grip and the receptacle, the device suffers from lack of compatibility similarly to the device shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,400,269. That is, the mount in U.S. Pat. No. 6,568,116 must be specific to a particular size and shape range and thus different models of the mount must be available to accommodate different pistols.